The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Sydney, Australia, has held the first Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan (TNK) Entrepreneurship Seminar on December 8, 2018 at the Property Investors Alliance Office in Sydney Olympic Park.
An initiative of the DTI, in partnership with the private sector, the academe, civil society organizations, and other government agencies, the seminar aims to generate more jobs and promote entrepreneurship among overseas Filipinos. Through the TNK seminar, the DTI hopes to provide them with necessary information, contacts, and other resources that can help them succeed as entrepreneurs.
According to Alma Argayoso, Philippine Commercial Consul to Australia, the TNK seminar was part of a series of entrepreneurship seminars planned for Australia.
“We aim to instill the values of saving and investing so that our kababayan (countrymen) and their families back home would have the means to improve their quality of life, while contributing to the development of the economy by investing in viable economic activities in the Philippines,” she said during the opening of the seminar.
“We hope to demystify entrepreneurship success and popularize entrepreneurship as an alternative to unemployment, job-seeking, or migration,” she added.
Among the viable economic activities and business opportunities discussed during the seminar were franchising, property investment, and agri-business. Meanwhile, Consul Emmanuel Guzman of the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney assured Filipinos in Australia of full support for their business ventures. He also urged them to apply for dual citizenship and avail of their full rights and privileges as Filipino investors.
The PTIC in Sydney invited other distinguished speakers to mentor aspiring Filipino entrepreneurs at the seminar. Eric Maliwat, a freelance broadcaster, spoke about the importance of embracing the right mindset and attitude. He said it was essential to identify a marketplace need or problem in starting a business and to seek inspiration from successful entrepreneurs.
Justin Wang, managing director and founder of The Property Investors Alliance (PIA), shared his successful story as a Chinese migrant to Australia in the 90’s. Back then, Wang came to Australia with limited skills and very poor English and took on a variety of odd jobs.
He later decided to invest in property to secure a better future for himself and his family. Wang eventually created a platform offering an integrated solution for the property industry while helping average individuals to access property for investment purposes. This unique platform is delivered by his company to great success. From a humble company with one table and one employee, the PIA now generates more than $1 billion sales annually, with over 500 employees who are also business owners.
“Filipinos have better skills than me… they speak English well and are educated. I have no doubt that they can succeed but a change in mindset is important. They have to decide for themselves and not depend too much on the government,” said Wang during his talk.
Another speaker, Ignacio Gimenez of RK Franchising, urged participants to consider franchising as a means to have their own business. He said that franchising was a powerful tool for economic development as it creates thousands of enterprises and generates millions of jobs. Gimenez recommends franchising for those thinking of starting a business. According to him, franchising has lesser risk than an independent start-up.
“You gain a lot of advice from the franchisor and can take advantage of training, mentoring, joint advertisement or promotions,” he said.
The TNK seminar was organized by PTIC in partnership with PIA and Narra Co-operative Ltd, a membership co-op comprised of Filipino-Australians involved in community events.
A second TNK seminar is planned in February 2019, which will focus on franchising and will have speakers and franchisors from the Philippines. Other participants also suggested regional focus and the discussion of the business registration process in the Philippines.♦
Date of Release: 11 December 2018